Kick Down the Door

Earning playing time and an expansive role has always challenged MVB athletes. There's a secret sauce. 

Class 1. Be the best fit for the position based on performance.

Class 2. Fill a specific role as a difference maker. 

Class 3. Be an all-around performer who can dominate or at least thrive as an "All-Six" player. Melrose had more than a few over the past few years (e.g. Sadie Jaggers, Gia Vlajkovic, Elena Soukos). That doesn't include setters...

Fast forward to the coming season. Every position is available. To borrow a horse racing term, some returnees have advantages coming out of the starting gate. 

But this isn't any eight horse Kentucky Derby. It's a 'crowded field' with dark horse contenders across the board.

Class 1: Position Dominance

For example, MVB 25 had Sabine Wenzel, an NCAA Division 1 scholarship player who set the single season school standard for kills. Nobody was taking that spot. 

Anna Burns earned the libero role based on her performance and held it because she continued to improve over the season, having an outstanding game in the postseason. 

Those are "Class 1" indicators. 

Class 2: Role Performance

MVB has always needed players who excel in specific need areas. Here's where the "Dark Horses" have a chance to shine. 

• Blocking. Sabine isn't walking back in that door. Winning big demands blocking big. It helps to have length, but you don't have to be an Amazon to block. Elise Marchais is "undersized" compared to many middles but "gets hands on" attacks. Ella Friedlaender improved over the season but can leverage her athleticism to be even better blocking at either pin.
• Designated server. With either power, craft, or both...there are always opportunities available. It's complicated because the server has to become a defender. I can't think of any "good serve/bad defense" player who ever earned that role. Definitely a position for long shots.

Class 3. All-Around

Aside from setters, the numerous "All-Six" from MVB recent and past all profiled skill, power, and athleticism. Many in the past played for Melrose basketball as well, although not all had basketball frames. One of the best all-around players for MVB was Jen Cain, who played for Merrimack College. 

These tend to be "unicorns," players with skill and competitive fire that makes coaches go, "Wow." They're the players who could double as decathletes. MVB historians know their names. 

MVB has 'candidates' for those roles in 2026 but it's a dogfight in the "Hunger Games" mode. 

If you aspire to those roles, grow skill, athleticism, and elite physical and mental conditioning. For example, Sarah McGowan could have been one of those players, but the depth of her teams allowed her to get some rest which benefited her and the 2011 and 2012 teams by having a more rested dominant hitter. 

Speculating on the MVB 26 lineup is simply a fool's errand. That's exciting. The best players will "kick down the door" and claim the spots. 

Lagniappe. Excellence sets the bar high. When Michael Jordan was at Carolina, he told Assistant Coach Roy Williams, "I'll work as hard as any player ever at Carolina." Williams answered, "That's not enough. You have to work harder than that." The rest is history. 

To get somewhere you’ve never been… you must make investments you’ve never made (time, money, energy).

— Alan Stein, Jr. (@AlanSteinJr) December 17, 2025

Lagniappe 2. Boost your scoring with craft.